The Princess and The Rocker
by Mozart's Starling
Summary: When Marceline Abadeer extended a kind hand to an injured young woman in the alley, she never expected the consequences she would face as a result. AU Bubbline/Sugarless Gum. (Rated T for Language, Violence, and Some Sexual Situations.)
1. The Alley

**A/N: Hello my dears! Here it is, a bright and shiny new Bubbline fanfic for you to all enjoy. Obviously, it's AU, so things are going to be different- BUT I'm really going to try to make the elements of the show work well with this real-world setting, as well as try to keep it original and keep the characters in their personalities (or rather, my perception of their personalities). That being said, I'm currently looking for a beta- if you're interested, please don't hesitate to PM me! It gets rather tiresome figuring out which of five working options I want to go with, at least when I'm by myself. As is the case with all FanFiction, I do not own any of the characters or names from Adventure Time. They belong to Pen Ward.**

Marceline Abadeer stood outside her apartment building, leaning against the brick wall as she smoked a cigarette. It was dusk now, one of the most dangerous times of day for this neighborhood, but she wasn't afraid. Besides, she wasn't like the other girls in the neighborhood, with their leggings and short skirts, begging for trouble. Her wardrobe was much less revealing, less tempting. She knew better than to flaunt herself at night- she'd lived here too long for that nonsense. As a result, she was something of a neighborhood badass, someone even the toughest guys on the block, guys who would shoot if provoked, wouldn't mess with. It probably helped that the fact she carried a knife in the waistband of her jeans was fairly well known. Seven when she heard a loud bang from the alley way, her position didn't change, nor did she panic. At first, she went so far as to ignore the noise, thinking that it was probably the crazy, yet harmless man who usually hung around the garbage in search of scraps. _It's getting a little chilly, I wonder if he found a coat yet_. It wasn't until she heard the bang again followed by a short yelp that she sighed, stomping out her cigarette and turning toward the dimly lit alley. She could already see him, and rolled her eyes a bit. "Simon, you're making way too much noise, the building manager- Simon?"

The old man, his white beard scraggly and rough, blue pants and coat wrapped tightly around him, looked up and squinted at her. "Gunter? That you boy?" Marceline felt a pang of regret as she thought of the scruffy old sheep dog, who'd been Simon's best friend for years.

"Simon, Gunter died last April," Marceline said, glancing at whatever he was huddled over. She saw a single, light brown boot peeking out from behind a trashcan. "We buried him in the park. What do you have there?"

"I found it. It's mine." A squeak of terror came from the boot's direction, and Marceline's eyes narrowed. Simon looked away guiltily.

"Sounds like a person."

"She wants to stay with me."

"N-No I don't!" A woman's voice- timid, but with an undercurrent of defiance. The pale-skinned rocker crossed her arms and tapped a leather boot on the ground, Simon looking up at her like a wounded dog.

"Let her go, Simon. Come on now." Reluctantly, he stepped aside. The girl that had been on the ground shot up like a flash, anxious to hide behind Marceline. She only caught a glimpse of the girl- a panicked face, wavy reddish hair- before turning back to the man in front of her. "Oh Simon… what am I going to do with you?" Sighing, she motioned for the girl to follow her before turning back to the now sullen old drifter. "I'm going to bring you some new clothes tomorrow, okay? It's getting too cold at night." Once she received a nod of ascension, she turned and led the girl out of the alley and into the light of the street lamp.

It was clear she wasn't from this neighborhood, or anywhere near here. With her tight designer jeans, ridiculous looking Uggs, Pink tee and what looked like a football jacket, this girl was definitely Uptown. Her strawberry blonde hair- not exactly red, as Marceline had thought before- was a little messed though, and upon closer inspection, it looked like she'd fallen quite hard in the alley. She was favoring her left leg quite a lot as well. "Did you hurt your ankle or something?"

The girl nodded sheepishly. "I tripped over one of the boxes in the alley when I was trying to get away. I'll be okay though." As if to demonstrate, she shifted her weight to that side only to bite back a yelp and shift back almost immediately.

"Right." Marceline sighed, looking around. There wasn't much of an option, the kid couldn't walk and she was sure as hell not going to carry her to wherever she came from. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. My apartment's just upstairs." Hesitantly, the girl nodded in agreement, allowing Marceline to wrap an arm around her waist to help her walk. They slowly climbed the three flights of stairs to Marceline's rather small two room flat. The neighbor kid, a thirteen year old named Finn, was sitting in the hall as they approached.

"Hey MarMar!" He chirped, looking up from his adventure comic with a toothy grin. "Who's your friend?"

"Hush," Marceline warned him, sending a mock glare his way. "Better not be in my business, kid, or I'll drink all your blood like the vampire I am."

The girl's look of pain suddenly turned to one of fear, but Finn just laughed. "Cool. Oh! Jake said he had a gig for you guys, if you're interested. Just stop by later, kay? Bye Marmar, bye MarMar's friend." The blonde-haired boy smiled a little sheepishly at the strawberry blonde as Marceline opened the door, helping her guest in.

"So… A vampire?" Marceline smiled a little as she lowered the girl into the only good chair in the sparsely furnished apartment. The strawberry blonde was attempting to hide a look of terror behind a defiant face, which only made the other girl want to laugh.

"It's a bit of a long story." She went to make a pack of ice in the small kitchenette area. "I used to babysit him when I was in High School."

"Oh."

"Mhm." Marceline returned to the sitting are and gently eased off the girl's boot to reveal a badly swollen ankle, which she iced immediately. "Keep that elevated. Finn called me Marceline the Vampire Queen up until he was like, twelve. Now it's just a sort of… inside joke I guess."

"Interesting," the strawberry blonde said quietly, her eyes averted. "So, your name is Marceline?"

"The one and only. What's yours?"

"Bonnibel Zucker."

"Cute name. It'd be cuter if you could shorten it though. Can I call you Bonnie?"

"I guess." She lifted the ice and winced a little, looking up at Marceline. "Is it broken, do you think?"

Marceline pulled her chair a little closer, gingerly lifting the girl's slender foot into her lap. Bonnie winced a little, and Marceline glanced up for a second before turning her attention back to the foot. "Hmm. Can you bend your toes?" Bonnie did so easily, though her eyes betrayed a touch of fear. "No pain? Good. Let me see…" The raven haired girl slowly began to apply pressure to various points in Bonnibel's foot, gauging a reaction from her. "Well, I don't think it's broken," she said finally, releasing the foot. "Really bad sprain though. You're going to have to stay off of it for a while. Where do you live? You look a little to clean to be from the Caves."

"I go to the University in the Upper district," Bonnibel said, quickly adding, "what do you mean, the Caves?"

"Oh there's a nickname for every district in the city." She shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back in the chair. "We call the Lower the Caves, and the Upper either Ooo or the Kingdom."

"Why Ooo?"

"Cuz that's the noise kids from the Caves make when they get there," Marceline said with a smirk. Suddenly, a yap sounded from the other room. "Aw shit, I forgot to let Schwable out… I'll be right back." Bonnie watched as Marceline disappeared into what was presumably the bedroom, listening as a latch creaked and the raven-haired girl laughed. "C'mon buddy, we've got a guest."

A small ball of white fluff bounded out after Marceline, whose face was bright with a grin. The little poodle jumped right into Bonnie's lap, making her giggle with surprise as he licked her face. "Well hello to you too, little guy!"

"Bonnie, meet Schwable. Schwable, Bonnie." Marceline plopped onto the couch next to Bonnie's chair and scratched her dog's chin affectionately. "Now Bonnie, how did a Princess like yourself get so far from your Kingdom at this time of night?"

Bonnibel shot the other girl a look, but conceded a little as she continued to pet Schwable. "I'm interning with a company in this area, Yoru Enterprises." Marceline's face darkened considerably, and Bonnie looked at her not with fear, but curiosity. "What?"

"Why would you work for them?"

"They're making some incredible strides in the field of medical Biochemistry, which happens to be my major," Bonnie argued somewhat defensively. The other girl crossed her arms and scowled.

"Do you know what else they do there?"

"No, what exactly are you talking about?"

The two girls stared each other down for a while before Marceline sighed and slumped back. "Nothing. It's not important anyway. How did you get out here though? I mean, Yoru is in the Caves but it's like, six blocks in the opposite direction from the way you should've been going."

"I… may have miscalculated my direction of travel," Bonnibel said with a sheepish blush. "I got turned around when I was near Fifth and Hero."

"Ahh. I see. Well, it's kinda late to start going back tonight… You're welcome to stay here if you want."

"Oh no, I couldn't," Bonnibel said, her eyes widening. "You've already done so much for me, I don't think I could trouble you any further."

"No trouble," Marceline said, standing and stretching. "It'd be more of a hassle helping you walk back for thirteen blocks."

"Couldn't I just call a cab?"

"Not after the incident last week. Cabbie got shot and robbed about two blocks west of here." Marceline shook her head sadly. "Damn shame too. I knew him, he used to give me reduced fare sometimes. Anyway, he was one of the only ones who would service this dump at night, and once the others found out about him, they all but protested about the job being to dangerous. So no more night service to the Caves."

"Oh. Are… are you sure it wouldn't be any trouble?"

"Of course not. Why don't you call your roommate or whoever needs to know where you are, and I'll go walk Schwable?"

"Well… Alright. Marceline?"

The raven haired girl turned to raise a questioning eyebrow at her guest, who was watching her intently. "Thank you. For everything."

"Don't mention it, Bonnie."


	2. The Revelation

**A/N: Hey guys, since there's such an awesome snowstorm outside, I figured I'd post the next chapter for you. Thank you to everyone who's favorited and followed this story, I really appreciate it. I'd also love to hear your thoughts! So if you'd like, don't forget to review, or PM me if you prefer. Enjoy!**

"So you said you had a gig for us?" Marceline questioned Jake, Finn's elder brother as they stood outside, smoking again. He was just a year younger than Marceline, though his scraggly blonde beard and low, soothing voice made him seem at least thirty.

"Yep. I'll text you the deets later." Jake took a puff of the cigarette before turning his dark brown eyes on Marceline curiously. "Finn said you had someone with you earlier. A girl."

"Ah just some chick who twisted her ankle in the alley. She seems okay, so I'm letting her stay the night- her name's Bonnibel Zucker. Completely uptown, it's almost embarrassing how many designers she's wearing." Marceline glanced over at him and made a face at his startled expression. "What? Jesus Jake, I haven't seen you this shocked since you met me."

"Dude," he blinked slowly, as if trying to process the information he'd just been given. "You brought _Princess Bubblegum_ home? Holy cows dude."

"What are you talking about, Princess Bubblegum? You know her?"

"Yeah, she's Reyna's roommate at the University."

"No shit." Marceline raised her eyebrows and looked up at the light coming from her apartment. Her expression suddenly turned thoughtful. "Wow. Why do you call her that though?"

"What, Princess? She's like, heiress to a huge candy company. You've never heard of Zucker's Sweets N' Treats?" Marceline shrugged noncommittally- the name sounded a bit familiar to her. "They like, invented bubblegum way back when. And PB chews it almost constantly, she even smells like it."

"Really? I thought she smelled like strawberries." She blushed as she realized what she'd just implied, quickly backtracking. Her voice was carefully deadpanned. "I mean, that's what I smelled when I was helping her up the stairs."

"Mhm," Jake said skeptically. He sighed deeply, turning to face her with a serious expression. "Look, Marce, I think I should warn you that this girl is kinda tough to get along with. She's stubborn and hard-headed, and she's very much aware of the power she has over people."

"What's your point?"

"My point is I don't want a repeat of what happened with Ash. I'm serious Marceline!" He glared at her as she rolled her eyes irritably. "You're my friend. I can't watch you go through that again."

"Alright, alright, I'll be careful," Marceline muttered, stamping out the cigarette and gently guiding Schwable back up the steps. "But there's nothing going on. Even if I were interested, which I'm not, she seems like a total straight edge."

"Right."

"Text me the deets about the gig alright? I'll talk to you later."

"See ya Marce."

When Marceline reentered the room apartment, Bonnie was still on the phone, chattering away excitedly. She glanced over wordlessly as she passed, leading Schwable into the kitchen so he could have some food. _Jake's just being paranoid,_ she told herself, measuring out a quarter cup of kibble. Her face slid into a slight frown as she placed it carefully into the dog bowl. _I'm not interested in that kid at all. I mean, she can't be more than eighteen. I'm like, almost six years older than her. When I was smoking my first cigarette, she was probably still playing with Barbies_. Marceline looked intently at the girl on the phone. She took in the girl's obvious affinity for pink, the perfect white smile, the way she twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she spoke. _Definitely not my type_. Bonnie looked up at Marceline and smiled as she said something to the person on the other end before hanging up.

"You get in touch with someone?"

"Yeah, my roommate. It's funny though, she said her boyfriend lives in this building too."

"He's actually my neighbor, Finn's older brother Jake." Marceline flipped a chair around and sat on it the wrong way, resting her arms and chin along the back rest as her legs hugged either side. "Reyna's her name, right?"

"Yes," Bonnibel nodded with another smile. "I've met Jake before, he's a nice guy."

"That he is. Great cook too."

"Is he?"

"Yeah, I'll have to get him to make something for us sometime." Inwardly, Marceline groaned as the sentence left her mouth. What was did she think, they were going to be friends now? It was only a weird coincidence that brought them together in the first place. If Bonnie noticed, however, she wasn't about to say anything. Instead, she just cheerily continued the conversation.

"So, Marceline. What do you do for a living? I already told you about college and my internship."

"I'm a musician," she replied, perking up a bit at the chance to talk about the band. "We're just a local band right now, but we're hoping to hit it big sometime soon."

"What do you play?"

"I'm lead singer and bass guitarist."

Bonnibel looked impressed. "That seems like a lot of work." Marceline shrugged and felt a blush rising in her cheeks.

"Compared to biochemistry I'm sure it's nothing."

"Nonsense," Bonnie said. "The amount of hand-eye coordination that's required to play any instrument is incredibly high, never mind the amount of concentration and skill it takes to sing at the same time as playing said instrument, especially if you're playing the melody and the rhythm, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Marceline interrupted, putting up a hand as if to block an onslaught. "Calm down! It really, really isn't that big a deal. And your science-y stuff is giving me a massive headache."

"Sorry," Bonnie said, not sounding sorry at all. If anything she seemed more intrigued by the other woman's behavior. "What kind of music do you guys play?"

Marceline suddenly became irritated with Bonnie's questioning, turning away sharply. Her reply was short and biting. "Rock." A little voice inside her head told her she wasn't being fair- after all, the other girl was only curious. And she _had_ been eager to talk about it… at least when the focus wasn't all on her as an individual. She sighed softly and looked back up at Bonnibel, who had an expectant look on her face. _God does this girl not know how to read body language?_ When their eyes met, Bonnie offered a small, understanding smile. _Or is she just that good?_ "We play rock. I guess you could say it's a little on the punk side."

"I can picture that," Bonnibel said, sizing an embarrassed Marceline up. "You do blush an awful lot for a rocker though."

"And you know an awful lot for a princess," the raven-haired woman retorted hotly. Bonnie suppressed a giggle. "Jake told me they called you Princess Bubblegum."

"That's true, but usually they shorten it to PB, or Peebs, or something like that."

Marceline stared at Bonnie for a moment, utterly flabbergasted. "Doesn't anything faze you?"

"What do you mean?" The strawberry blonde looked genuinely confused, and Marceline sighed in exasperation.

"Any other person would have been insulted by this point. I mean God, Bonnie, doesn't anything bother you?"

Bonnie thought for a moment, tilting her head in concentration. "Actually, yes. A great many things do bother me. But I don't let those emotions take over. And," she added, looking at Marceline with a smile, "I can tell when someone's trying to be mean, and when they're just trying defend themselves. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom."

Marceline stared as the other girl limped into the tiny bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. Her mind was going at a million miles an hour trying to decipher Bonnibel's words, but one thought stood out against all the others. _Dammit Jake, I hate it when you're right._


End file.
